Skip to main content

tom-short
9th October 2012

Animal Collective: Centipede HZ – review

Domino 8/10
Categories:
TLDR

There is something very reassuring about the fact that a band as bloody minded and downright weird as Animal Collective can still headline festivals such as Coachella and Manchester’s own Warehouse Project. Their previous record, Merriweather Post Pavilion, cemented their status as this generation’s most beloved oddball act, entrancing a whole new audience with its Beach Boys-on-DMT vocal harmonies and swirling production. This album finds the band reunited as a full quartet for the first time in years and was recorded in the same room, rather than via zip files and snatched IM conversations from across the globe as on MPP. The result is a far busier, more challenging listen.

In interviews, Animal Collective have denied allegations that Centipede HZ is a reaction against the adoration that MPP received, but it is difficult not to see this album as a return to their audience baiting roots. While fans of early classics such as Strawberry Jam will find little to dislike here, this record is sure to prove divisive among newcomers.

Opener ‘Moonjock’ announces the band’s latest direction with thundering thrash metal percussion before mutating into their fastest song yet. On single ‘Today’s Supernatural’ they hit their stride, hurtling on a wave of skewed melodies and lurching grooves faster than their worn-out synth pads can carry them. These two tracks set the tone for the album, establishing a frenzied tempo that rarely lets up, and a lo-fi sonic palette drenched in white noise. While MPP’s gorgeous melodies unfurled elegantly, the band’s attitude to innovation here is slapdash, with ideas tripping over each other rather than being carefully deployed.

An album this hyperactive is extremely demanding to listen to in one go, but those who can bear it should persevere. Animal Collective have once again proved themselves masters of the format, interlacing their songs with woozy commercial snippets and their trademark otherworldly synth gurgles. Most importantly, the earworms are still here. I defy anyone not to have the demented nursery rhyme of ‘Applesauce’ in their head for months. Not just an exercise in artistic opacity, this album is simply another step on Animal Collective’s abstract journey; those who are able to stomach its excesses will be rewarded with a treasure trove of sonic brilliance.


More Coverage

Truck Festival proved itself to be one of the country’s best, appealing to all audiences by bringing something for everyone and showcasing a variation of exciting new music
With small venues in trouble and social media taking charge, how hard is it for small, up and coming bands to survive in the modern grass-roots music scene? Hungry sit down with The Mancunion to help shed some light on the lives of young creatives
The Last Dinner Party return to Manchester as part of their Prelude to Ecstasy tour, showcasing their talent, aptitude and ability live
Joined by Radiohead’s Phillip Selway, the Mercury-nominated group delivered a cathartic spectacle and once again demonstrated why they are one of the UK’s most noteworthy acts